Intelligence Expert and Former FBI Agent Joins ACLU As National Security Counsel

WASHINGTON - The American Civil Liberties Union Washington Legislative Office
appointed Michael German as Policy Counsel on National Security, Immigration and
Privacy. A former FBI agent, German brings extensive national security and
intelligence experience as well as a lifelong dedication to civil liberties.

"We are pleased to have Michael German’s experience as an FBI Agent on our
team at a time when our freedoms are under attack," said Caroline Fredrickson,
director of the ACLU’s Washington Legislative Office. "At a time when it’s hard
to tell the difference between the morning paper and a George Orwell novel, the
ACLU will benefit from the wise counsel of Michael German, with his front-line
perspective on national security."

German is a sixteen-year veteran of the FBI, where he served as a Special
Agent in domestic terrorism, bank fraud and public corruption investigations.
While at the FBI, German also served in undercover operations, successfully
helping to prevent several terrorist attacks. He resigned in 2004 to make
Congress and the public aware of the continuing deficiencies in FBI
counterterrorism operations after the implementation of the 9/11 Commission’s
reforms.

After leaving the FBI, German formed Hotei Consulting, where he urged
Congress to adopt better intelligence policies in the wake of 9/11. He was also
as an adjunct professor at the National Defense University School for National
Security Executive Education.

German’s articles on terrorism have appeared in the Washington Post, the San
Francisco Chronicle and the National Law Journal.

German graduated from Wake Forest University and earned his J.D. from
Northwestern University Law School. For his work combating white supremacist
groups, he was awarded the Los Angeles Federal Bar Association Medal of Valor,
the First African Methodist Episcopal Church FAME Award and the Traveler’s Aid
Community Award.

"I joined the FBI because I wanted to defend this country, but the oath I
took was to defend the Constitution. Working for this administration, I felt as
though I was participating in a dark chapter in American history," German said.
"At the ACLU, I will be able to fulfill my oath by protecting what this country
stands for: we can, and must, be both safe and free."